Today, This Hot Pot of His...

The serrated teeth in the serpent's jaws began tearing through the tentacle's flesh, bit by bit.

Chaos was perfectly calm.

In the bag. Totally in the bag.

He only needed to take his time, and he could wear down this Bamokangla, weakened by going so long without food.

Should I make tentacle hot pot afterward?

Yeah, that could work.

Unlike the relaxed Chaos, all the hatchlings above the water stood ready for battle, watching the churning surface.

Splash!

Something suddenly changed. A pitch-black body like a small mountain rose straight out of the roiling water, with a giant, transparent serpent made of water coiled around it.

Once above the surface, Bamokangla stopped attacking the water serpent wrapped around its body and immediately fixed its gaze on the magic circle on the riverbank.

Its tentacles whipped through the air.

Countless tentacles shot toward the riverbank like lightning.

Chaos felt a flicker of panic at the sight.

But at this point, he had no choice. He could only trust the big little girl and silently pray.

You'd better come through for me, big girl.

"Roar!"

With a roar, all the hatchlings fearlessly met the oncoming tentacles.

Agatha, the largest of them, was the first to intercept a tentacle. She raised her claws, muscles bulging, and slammed one down on it.

Squelch!

Flesh and blood splattered everywhere. The tentacle she struck instantly turned to pulp.

Compared with Agatha, who cleared away tentacles as if mowing grass, the other hatchlings were somewhat weaker, but they could still slowly tear them apart with lunges and bites.

Once Chaos got a clear look at the situation on the riverbank, his anxiety eased.

Yep, in the bag. All I have to do is wait for my tentacle hot pot.

"AAAA!"

An unbearably shrill roar suddenly erupted from Bamokangla, making every hatchling freeze for a moment.

Seizing that opening, Bamokangla rapidly submerged its body again.

Chaos froze when he heard Bamokangla's roar.

A mutant!

This Bamokangla was a mutant. A normal Bamokangla had no ability to stun others with a roar.

Still, that won't change anything.

I'm having that tentacle hot pot today, no matter what.

As Bamokangla submerged again, Chaos remained utterly composed, and the serpent's jaws continued gnawing through its tentacles.

After descending about fifty meters, Bamokangla's body paused.

The next second, countless bubbles erupted from beneath it, and its mountainous body shot toward the surface like a cannonball.

Wait... that's not right.

Chaos immediately realized what was happening.

This thing isn't trying to escape. It's going all out!

And that was exactly what it did.

Splash!

Bamokangla's mountainous body burst straight out of the water and hurtled toward the riverbank.

Its enormous body was like a mountain of flesh, filling half the underground river passage.

Every hatchling froze at the sight.

Run? Too late.

Bamokangla hurtled toward the bank as fast as a cannonball. Everything happened in an instant.

Seeing the hatchlings standing there stunned, Chaos's heart went cold.

I'm screwed. These guys are useless.

A thousand thoughts flashed through his mind. It seemed there was no time even to switch back to his real body.

Just then, a crimson flame surged upward.

Whoosh!

Scorching flames swept across the ground, instantly charring it black.

Chaos hurriedly looked toward the flames.

It was the big little girl.

Crimson flames instantly enveloped her entire body, and her draconic form visibly grew within them. Her nearly five-meter frame immediately surpassed that size, only stopping when it reached nine meters. With solid muscle all over her body, she now looked almost exactly like a juvenile red dragon.

At the sight, Chaos felt that his already-dead heart might still be resuscitated.

Holy shit! Go, big girl! Ram that bastard to death!

As though she had heard Chaos's thoughts, the ground beneath Agatha shattered as her claws pushed off. Her muscular crimson body hurtled straight toward Bamokangla like a fireball.

Boom!

At the instant of impact, crimson flames billowed outward, seeming to form a barrier.

Scrape, scrape!

Her four crimson claws sank deep into the earth as she continued sliding backward.

The stunned hatchlings seemed to come to their senses. One after another, they followed her lead and slammed their bodies straight into Bamokangla's mountain of flesh.

As the hatchlings joined in, Bamokangla gradually slowed.

Chaos breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.

Today, this hot pot of mine...

"AAAAA!"

The piercing, shrill roar rang out again, and all the hatchlings froze.

Every remaining tentacle on Bamokangla's body shot out at once, targeting the green figure in the center of the magic circle-Chaos's real draconic body.

Agatha reacted instantly when she saw it. This time, Bamokangla's roar had not affected her.

Chaos is in danger!

She opened her jaws at once.

Whoosh!

Crimson dragonfire instantly incinerated several tentacles, but that was nowhere near enough.

Just then, another stream of crimson dragonfire erupted from beside her.

It was Hera. As the second stat monster among them, she quickly shook off the stunning effect of Bamokangla's roar. Without any hesitation, she opened her jaws and began roasting tentacles too.

But there were too many. No matter how hard the two dragons tried, they could not intercept forty attacking tentacles at once.

Two reached Chaos's real body.

Splash!

The giant serpent coiled around Bamokangla collapsed into water.

Chaos opened his eyes.

Close. Too close.

The two tentacles were now less than three meters from his head.

Their rough black skin and spear-sharp tips seemed to gleam coldly.

Everything was so clear.

Am I going to die...?

No. I don't want to die.

A fierce refusal welled up inside him!

Tick!

What was that sound?

Tick, tick!

It sounded like the hands of a clock moving.

The tentacles seemed to slow in his vision. No, they really had slowed, moving about as fast as snails.

I can dodge them! I can live.

Hope rose once more.

He tried to dodge, but his draconic body seemed no longer to belong to him. He could not move. He could not move at all.

It was not only the tentacles that had turned into snails. He seemed to have become one himself.

What is this?

My final moments?

So I still have to die?

But I don't want to die!

A savage gleam appeared in his emerald slit pupils as he fixed his gaze on Bamokangla, now sprawled across the riverbank.

Then I'll kill it!

Even if I die, I'm taking something down with me!

The moment that thought arose, all the mana in his body surged out wildly.

Mana poured into the magic circle. The circle, which had been on the verge of going dark, lit up with azure radiance once more, and two transparent giant serpents shot out of it.

So fast!

Chaos's slit pupils narrowed slightly.

They were too fast. Both giant serpents reached Bamokangla's head in an instant, as though someone had pressed fast-forward.

Though startled, his thoughts did not slow in the slightest.

Kill this Bamokangla first!

The two water serpents took one side each and opened their jaws. Their hideous maws, lined with serrated teeth, clamped onto Bamokangla's head almost simultaneously.

The instant Bamokangla was attacked, time resumed its normal flow.